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from an unpaid politician to a paid one

A recent profile of California Lt. Governer Gavin Newsom tanned my hide. In it he lamented that Governor Brown wouldn’t give him the time of day. Newsom doesn’t have the influence he had hoped for. Here is the Letter to the Editor that I wrote to the LA Times that they published today as the lead letter.

With Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom having no influence on Jerry Brown, clearly our governor does not subscribe to Abraham Lincoln‘s “team of rivals” leadership style. So if Newsom feels he is powerless, I invite him to switch places with me.

I am a member of a neighborhood association and a board member of a neighborhood council. I lobby my local City Council member’s office and other departments regularly to try to improve the quality of life in my community.

Just as with Newsom, I get little response, but unlike him, I do not have a salary of $123,965 or a $1 million budget to pay my staff so I can be ready for TV appearances. I am a volunteer who is underemployed.

One must serve one’s community as a duty.

Daphne Brogdon

Los Angeles

I wrote that because it sounded better than “shut your pie hole, you cry baby.” Lt. Governor is not a position that denotes wheeler and dealer. However, here he is being driven around, he gets to be a UC Regent, meets with people of influence while he also hosts a TV show. Where do I sign up for that?

Oh, and he has a pension.

My guess is “his people” cringed when they saw this piece. I’m sure this wasn’t the aspects of Newsom they were hoping to highlight.